Ind Coope Silver Jubilee Strong Ale (1977)

This is an absolutely stunning beer. It has a thick, silky body, rich with oily goodness, and packed with toffee sweet malt flavours. Tobacco notes mingle with the toffee sweetness to create an intriguing balance. I love this. Can be bought for £5 from RoyalBeers. A bargain. I think 1977 was a great year for vintage beers.

Harry Ramsden's Ale / Black Sheep Ale (1996)

Specially brewed to compliment fish and chips - my arse! This is a rebadge of Black Sheep Ale from 1996. It's a lovely vintage. Creamy caramel and Lapsang souchong tea with the merest hint of bitter wet cardboard.
August 2010

Radeberger Pilsener (1996)

Radeberger 1996 vintage. Good malt body, full and creamy with a lot of honey. Moderate to modest hop bitterness. A very drinkable and enjoyable vintage pale lager.
August 2010

Simonds Coronation Ale 1911

Bought for a friend's wedding in 2011. We had trouble removing the ancient cork. The beer had to be filtered through some muslin to prevent cork and debris getting into the glasses. It was stunning. Great depth of character and malt.

Labatt Canadian Lager

Labatt lager 5%. Can't find a date. Water with some prune juice. One of the softest and most flavourless beers I've experienced - and that's after some years aging.
Sept, 2010

Ansells Silver Jubilee Strong Ale (1977)

Original review: 

Wow! This is the reason I drink vintage ales. This is stunning. Absolutely spanking. There's a whiff of cardboard which does translate into the taste, but that's the only off-note - and it's very minor. The main flavour is dark chocolate - creamy, liquid chocolate and port. Clearly a robust ale, there is a clear awareness of alcohol, and some beautiful fumes. Wow! One of the best vintage ales I've had in a very long time! This is heaven. I want some more!!!!!!!!!!!! 

January 2010


RateBeer review:
I love this beer. I have had it several times since first experiencing it in 2010. It is one of my favourite vintage beers, and can be picked up reasonably cheaply from eBay or RoyalBeers. Lots of malt character with deep chocolate notes.
July, 2014

John Smiths La Low Alcohol Bitter 1990

Contains few hops and lots of sugar so even though it is low abv (only 0.9%) it tastes OK. There's a suggestion of brown bread dipped in white wine and dripping. It's OK. Not great, but better than expected.

Timothy Taylor Landlord 1994

Timothy Taylor's Landlord was first brewed in 1952 as a bottled beer called Competition Ale. It changed name to Landlord in 1953, and was also launched as a regular in the cask. It famously won CAMRA Supreme Champion four times:  1982; 1983; 1994 and 1999. This bottle has the Best Before date of April 1994, so it would have been brewed in 1993, when the cask version had only been champion twice. The malt is pleasantly toffee accented, and is soft and easy drinking with a neutral palate. The hops have broken down, so are powdery bitter with a wet cardboard twang. As landlord is a delicate beer which is best served fresh in the cask where it has a zesty citric tang when handled correctly, it is not a beer to be drunk pasteurised in a bottle, and certainly not when aged.

Drinkable, but not good.

Guinness 1998

This Guinness was brewed in 1997 in London from malt sent over from Dublin - rather like a homebrew kit. The London brewery, Park Royal, was in operation from 1936 to 2005.

There is modest carbonation, some wet cardboard, and a thinner mouthfeel than a fresh Guinness, which marks this out as a vintage beer. The taste hasn't improved - it has slightly diminished. There's still the roast flavours you expect, but none of the lactic bite or red wine notes. It's quite drinkable, but lacks interest.

I acquired someone's collection of Guinness bottled by various breweries. I think this is the last one - though I may still have a few under the bed upstairs. This was bottled by Scottish & Newcastle - though it doesn't say which plant. And I can't see any date. It's quite dry - quite astringent. Smells of mushrooms and smokey bacon. It's OK.

August 2010

Binding Export 1991

A fairly standard pale lager.Vintage 1991 from the German brewery Binding, which is now part of the Oetker group. It is soft, bland and easy drinking. The colour is orange amber, which may be due to the age. As the Germans prefer softly hopped lagers, there is little stale hop notes, but some bitter wet cardboard can be tasted as there is nothing to conceal it.

Paine & Co Young Rowley 29th July 1981 (The Marraige of the Prince of Wales and lady Diana Spencer)

Very little condition, but gloriously rich and oily. Nice toffee sweetness, but just a little too much powdery tobacco bitterness for my taste. Sometimes it's like drinking liquid toffee laced with snuff. Robust and hearty and very satisfying.

Paine & Co 150th Anniversary Special Beer (1981)

James Paine Final Brew (1987)

Another blog

James Paine Final Brew (1987)

Chocolate, dark fruits, banana, honey.

Matthew Brown Centenary Ale 1875-1975

A sturdy dark ale. Very little carbonation, but plenty of body and character. Deep malty flavour packed with sweetness and tobacco and assorted fruits - ripe bananas, prunes, figs, and chocolate. Really well rounded. Very robust. A true beauty.

It is for beers like this that I buy vintage ales. I did allow a little sediment into the beer as I was pouring, which has taken the edge slightly off the flavour (a sludgy stale bitterness now and again), but not by much. If I see this again, I will certainly buy it. Thirty nine years old and damn lovely.


The Matthew Brown brewery was founded in 1830 at Pole Street, Preston, Lancashire.

Matthew brown's original brewery in Preston

It moved to the Lion Brewery in Blackburn in 1927 after it bought Nuttall's brewery. The Lion Brewery had been built in 1875, and it is the brewery itself that is being commemorated by this centenary beer

Brown's Lion Brewery, founded in 1875.

Lees Centenary Ale July 6th 1986 Middleton Borough

Centenary Ales seemed to be a favourite of J.W. Lees. This is a smooth, rounded ale with good toffee notes. Clean and tasty with good flavours.